Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Today's Mass Readings

To whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life. We have come to believe; we are convinced that you are the holy one of God.

Some who were with him were puzzled by everything they were hearing from Jesus.
“Whoever eats the flesh of the Son of Man and drinks His blood – has eternal life.
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

I am the bread of life –
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world. Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

Easter is a time of new life; of transformation; of growth; of change. During these days, we ponder many manifestations of that life in Christ. The Lord’s own rising, his appearing to his disciples, overcoming fear, the transforming effects of that new life.

We have come to believe. Peter says, and Thomas too in his time would acclaim, “ My Lord and My God. We have seen Thomas’s doubts changed to firm belief. We see Peter who once denied Jesus, later confessing his undying love of the Lord, “Lord you know that I love you”.

Peter and the other apostles led many to faith. Peter himself worked miracles and even raised the dead. That was quite a transformation for one who denied ever knowing him. No less dramatic than the change in Saul of Tarsus, whose conversion led him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Stephen, or Philip, and many others. All were empowered by the grace of God and filled with the spirit. They boldly proclaimed the resurrection, the key element of their faith and the cornerstone of their life.

“We have become to believe and know that you are the holy one of God. Christ, who is the true bread of life, truly God and man.”

The example of faith, the witness, the life of Jesus’ closest followers tells us of the power of the resurrection that took hold of them and transformed them. That same power is at work in us.

Reflection by Fr. Peter Ullrich, OSB